OctPoWriMo Day 23

“If having a soul means being able to feel love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of humans.” -James Herriot

Today’s Prompt: Fur Babies

Rufio

Some people hate the term “fur babies,” arguing that animals are nothing like “real” children. But those of us who have pets understand. We love our furry babies as if they were our own flesh and blood.

Do you have pets? That love is just as real and strong as any love. Have you ever lost a pet? The grief is just as real and strong as when you lose anyone.

When I was very young, I had a puppy named Lucky. We were best friends. He used to hold my hand while we ran around outside together. Yes, in his mouth. Yes, while we ran. No, he never hurt me. He used to love racing down the mountainside in the vacant lot next door to run across the road at the bottom. I still remember the sound of his yelp when a car hit him. The grief of losing him was just as sharp as the grief at losing my grandpa a few years earlier.

Dawn

I’ve lost two cats in the years since. Oliver and Dawn will always be in my heart. Oliver had a tumour in his mouth. The vet could have operated to remove it, but the recovery would have been miserable, and it would have come back. The choice to let him go was the hardest choice I’ve ever made. Dawn slipped out the door one night, her black fur blending into the darkness, and we didn’t notice. My husband found her broken body on the side of the road when he got home from a night shift. I spent the next day crying.

I have three cats right now: Toby, Rufio, and Rolly. Rolly came to us a pregnant stray, and we will soon have kittens too. We are excited for them (but will definitely spay her as soon as they’re weaned).

Toby

Word Prompts:
Cute
Furry
Cuddly
Love

Rolly

Suggested Form: Ode or Acrostic

Remember, our prompts are only suggestions, and you can find your inspiration wherever your muse leads you. Please visit the other participants, share the hashtag #OctPoWriMo on social media, and share your link in the comments below.

Esther Spurrill Jones has been writing since she was very young. She has written in many genres, but poetry is her first love. She has a few collections of poetry available on Kindle. Esther enjoys introducing people who have little or no experience to the joy of poetry. To this end, she has written several articles on Medium on how to write and enjoy poetry. Esther lives in the Frozen North (Saskatchewan, Canada) with the love of her life and three awesome terrible cats.

How to Find a Writing Partner

Rose asked a question in her comment on, OctPoWriMo Link Up, about how to find a writing partner. By the time I was done responding I realized I had basically written a post so I decided to share it here in hopes it will help you as well.

Photo courtesy of PublicDomainPictures.net
by Kevin Phillips

I've been looking for another writing partner for years and finally found an online writing buddy. I'd prefer to have someone to write with in person but meeting with someone online is great too. I just kept putting it out there that I was looking for someone to write with.

I attend Twitter chats, online writing groups, in person writing groups, etc. I would let people know every where I went, where there were other writers, that I was looking for someone to meet up and write with. Not on the same piece, just together.

If you are on Twitter, use the hashtag, #wordmongering , when people are using that hashtag to write they start at the top of the hour :00 and end at the :30. Using the hashtag you ask if anyone is up for #wordmongering at the :00 and see if anyone responds. If they do, you then write after checking in and then check in at the :30 to see how you both did. I often used that when I very first started writing and I'm back to using it again with my new writing buddy. Definitely helps with the loneliness.

 You can also join us on Thursday nights, 8 pm EST, for #StoryDam Twitter chat. We talk about all things writing. Tamara now has a Twitter chat on Tuesday nights, #WriteStuff at 9 pm EST. I've been visiting that chat as well, I'm meeting a lot of other writers and it's a lot of fun.

Do you have a writing partner? If you do, share with us in the comments how you found them.

Time for the Indie Ebook!

Colour Me by Roxanne Simone Ricketts  I must say that the color and the dancing/moving bodies on this cover really got my attention.


Have you Linked Up to join in the fun at OctPoWriMo?

Morgan Dragonwillow, author of Wild Woman Waking & Dancing within Shadow, is a Bodywork transformer, dancing poet, motivator of words, magical instigator and creatrix of #OctPoWriMo & #PoetsonthePage. You can find out more about her and how she can help you "move your body, move your words" on her website, Read, Dance, Write.
Yes, she is on Google+ too!

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